Accused Copper Top shooter: “I would like to tell all involved I am sorry”

Nathan Van Wilkins is accused of injuring 18 people after opening fire at a downtown bar last year.

By Stephanie TaylorStaff Writer

Published: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:59 p.m.

The man accused of injuring 18 people after opening fire at a downtown bar last year asked for a death sentence and said he is sorry for what happened, according to a letter he wrote to Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Brad Almond.

“Why send me to prison for life and support me with taxpayer money,” Nathan Van Wilkins wrote in a letter dated April 22 and entered into his court file Tuesday. “That used to make me so mad when I wasn’t in jail and paying taxes and had to support people like that.”

Wilkins, 45, has been held at the Tuscaloosa County Jail on $2 million bond since he was charged with 19 counts of attempted murder on July 17, 2012. He faces a total of 68 charges in relation to the events of July 16 and July 17.

Wilkins is accused of using an assault-style rifle to fire at 18 people at the Copper Top bar in Temerson Square. He is suspected of shooting another man at a home in Northport about an hour earlier and of setting fire to his former workplace in Brookwood and a co-worker’s home in Northport.

He turned himself in at a Jasper FedEx store on July 17.

Wilkins wrote the judge a letter in January stating that he was unhappy with his court-appointed public defender.

“Why would I want a lawyer representing me who has me already convicted and sentenced me to life in his mind,” Wilkins wrote. “I had asked (former Sheriff) Ted Sexton and my lawyer to give me the death penalty but instead they want to put me in prison for life because it wasn’t bad enough because no one died.”

Attempted murder is not a charge eligible for the death penalty in Alabama.

Wilkins wrote that he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison.

“I cannot bear to be away from my family especially my grandkids for life,” he wrote. “I would like to tell all involved I am sorry. I wish this incident would bring attention to prescription sleeping pills, especially Ambien, before it ruins someone else’s life! I want to say I’m sorry to everyone involved again.”

Wilkins wrote in the January letter that he did not remember the events of the night of the shootings. He was placed on suicide watch at the Tuscaloosa County Jail shortly after his arrest last year, based on statements he had made during an initial psychiatric evaluation.

According to documents filed the week of the shootings, the violent crime spree began when Wilkins allegedly set fire to a truck at a Northport trailer park.

He is then suspected of going to a home in the Indian Lake subdivision in Northport, where he knocked on the door and said “delivery.”

Investigators said that the resident answered the door, saw the gun and turned to run. Wilkins shot him in the back, they said, and continued to fire at the house.

One of the victim’s roommates told the Associated Press that Wilkins claimed to be looking for another roommate, a black man, and used a racial slur.

Black-and-white surveillance video released by Tuscaloosa police the next morning showed a man walking along the east side of the Copper Top holding the rifle at his side.

Police said that he stood on the patio of the bar for a few minutes before firing at least 11 shots that injured 17 people inside the bar. Video then showed him turning and walking away toward the same direction from which he approached.

Investigators released the video the following morning and soon began receiving tips that identified Wilkins as the shooter. They found the doors to his house on Buckhead Drive in Northport open and no one home. Inside, they found open containers of Wolf ammunition, the same brand used in the shootings.

The investigators learned the next day that someone had set fire to Wilkins former workplace in Brookwood. They believe that Wilkins left Copper Top and drove to Capstone Oil Field Services on Alabama Highway 216 and set fire to three trucks and a gas well rig about a quarter mile away.

Wilkins had been fired from his job there after a fistfight with a coworker in March 2012, according to court records. He told police that he was angry about his firing, and he was pressing assault charges against the coworker, Brookwood Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Sellers said last year. The other man was also fired but not arrested.

Records also indicate Wilkins’ financial troubles. He has filed for bankruptcy three times since 1991, most recently in 2011. He was receiving $260 in unemployment each week at the time of his arrest.

Wilkins’ trial is set for next Monday, although it is common for trial dates to be postponed.

<p>The man accused of injuring 18 people after opening fire at a downtown bar last year asked for a death sentence and said he is sorry for what happened, according to a letter he wrote to Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Brad Almond.</p><p>“Why send me to prison for life and support me with taxpayer money,” Nathan Van Wilkins wrote in a letter dated April 22 and entered into his court file Tuesday. “That used to make me so mad when I wasn't in jail and paying taxes and had to support people like that.”</p><p>Wilkins, 45, has been held at the Tuscaloosa County Jail on $2 million bond since he was charged with 19 counts of attempted murder on July 17, 2012. He faces a total of 68 charges in relation to the events of July 16 and July 17.</p><p>Wilkins is accused of using an assault-style rifle to fire at 18 people at the Copper Top bar in Temerson Square. He is suspected of shooting another man at a home in Northport about an hour earlier and of setting fire to his former workplace in Brookwood and a co-worker's home in Northport.</p><p>He turned himself in at a Jasper FedEx store on July 17.</p><p>Wilkins wrote the judge a letter in January stating that he was unhappy with his court-appointed public defender.</p><p>“Why would I want a lawyer representing me who has me already convicted and sentenced me to life in his mind,” Wilkins wrote. “I had asked (former Sheriff) Ted Sexton and my lawyer to give me the death penalty but instead they want to put me in prison for life because it wasn't bad enough because no one died.”</p><p>Attempted murder is not a charge eligible for the death penalty in Alabama.</p><p>Wilkins wrote that he did not want to spend the rest of his life in prison.</p><p>“I cannot bear to be away from my family especially my grandkids for life,” he wrote. “I would like to tell all involved I am sorry. I wish this incident would bring attention to prescription sleeping pills, especially Ambien, before it ruins someone else's life! I want to say I'm sorry to everyone involved again.”</p><p>Wilkins wrote in the January letter that he did not remember the events of the night of the shootings. He was placed on suicide watch at the Tuscaloosa County Jail shortly after his arrest last year, based on statements he had made during an initial psychiatric evaluation.</p><p>According to documents filed the week of the shootings, the violent crime spree began when Wilkins allegedly set fire to a truck at a Northport trailer park.</p><p>He is then suspected of going to a home in the Indian Lake subdivision in Northport, where he knocked on the door and said “delivery.”</p><p>Investigators said that the resident answered the door, saw the gun and turned to run. Wilkins shot him in the back, they said, and continued to fire at the house.</p><p>One of the victim's roommates told the Associated Press that Wilkins claimed to be looking for another roommate, a black man, and used a racial slur.</p><p>Black-and-white surveillance video released by Tuscaloosa police the next morning showed a man walking along the east side of the Copper Top holding the rifle at his side.</p><p>Police said that he stood on the patio of the bar for a few minutes before firing at least 11 shots that injured 17 people inside the bar. Video then showed him turning and walking away toward the same direction from which he approached.</p><p>Investigators released the video the following morning and soon began receiving tips that identified Wilkins as the shooter. They found the doors to his house on Buckhead Drive in Northport open and no one home. Inside, they found open containers of Wolf ammunition, the same brand used in the shootings.</p><p>The investigators learned the next day that someone had set fire to Wilkins former workplace in Brookwood. They believe that Wilkins left Copper Top and drove to Capstone Oil Field Services on Alabama Highway 216 and set fire to three trucks and a gas well rig about a quarter mile away.</p><p>Wilkins had been fired from his job there after a fistfight with a coworker in March 2012, according to court records. He told police that he was angry about his firing, and he was pressing assault charges against the coworker, Brookwood Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Sellers said last year. The other man was also fired but not arrested.</p><p>Records also indicate Wilkins' financial troubles. He has filed for bankruptcy three times since 1991, most recently in 2011. He was receiving $260 in unemployment each week at the time of his arrest.</p><p>Wilkins' trial is set for next Monday, although it is common for trial dates to be postponed.</p>